Xylitol chewing gum reduced preterm birth in research

Franziska Beier, Dental Tribune International

Fri. 11. March 2022

save

HOUSTON, US/LILONGWE, Malawi: Studies have shown a link between maternal periodontal disease and preterm birth—delivery before the 37^th week of pregnancy. However, scaling and root planing in pregnant women have not been shown in randomised trials to be successful in preventing preterm birth, despite improving periodontitis. A recent multicentre randomised controlled trial by researchers in the US and Malawi has investigated a different intervention: chewing gum containing xylitol, which is known for reducing caries. It found that daily usage of the gum before or in early pregnancy significantly reduced the number of preterm births.

The study, the largest of its kind, included 9,670 women from eight healthcare centres in Malawi—the country with the highest known preterm birth rate (18.1 per 100 births)—and was conducted over six years. All of the eight health centres provided the participants with perinatal and oral health education and four of the health centres additionally administered the daily use of xylitol chewing gum.

The research team found that the daily intake of xylitol gum significantly reduced the risk of preterm birth (12.6% compared with 16.5% in the control group) and hence reduced the likelihood of birthweight of less than 2.5 kg (8.9% compared with 12.9%).

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables and is commonly used as a food additive and sugar substitute. (Image: Danijela Maksimovic/Shutterstock)

“Using xylitol chewing gum as an intervention prior to 20 weeks of pregnancy reduced preterm births, and specifically late preterm births between 34 to 37 weeks,” commented lead author Dr Kjersti Aagaard, Henry and Emma Meyer chair in obstetrics and gynaecology at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, in a press release.

She added: “What’s unique about our study is that we used a readily available, inexpensive, and palatable means to reduce the risk of a baby being born too soon or too small. There is some real science behind the choice of xylitol chewing gum to improve oral health, and our novel application to improving birth outcomes is exciting.”

According to Dr Aagaard, the results are consistent with longstanding evidence linking oral health status to preterm birth. In the future, the researchers would like to conduct similar studies in other parts of the world, including in the US, to find out whether the study results can be reproduced in settings where there may be a lower burden of preterm birth tied to oral health.

Around 15 million babies, which is more than one in ten births, are born prematurely each year, according to the World Health Organization. Preterm babies are of higher risk of dying shortly after birth or of suffering from lifelong health problems.

The study was presented at this year’s annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The study abstract, titled “LB 1: PPaX: Cluster randomized trial of xylitol chewing gum on prevention of preterm birth in Malawi”, was published online in the January 2022 supplement of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Fruit leather, chewing gum help reduce errors in panoramic imaging

TABRIZ, Iran: Incorrect tongue placement is the major cause of poor-quality dental radiographs, resulting in radiographic error of 40% to 80%. A recent ...

Dental health identified as major predictor of preterm birth

SEOUL, South Korea: Identifying risk factors for preterm birth (PTB) is crucial for enabling healthcare providers, parents and policymakers to make informed...

Chewing gum sets trap for SARS-CoV-2, reduces transmission

PHILADELPHIA, U.S.: A study led by researchers from University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found that a chewing gum laced with ...

Food additive used in toothpaste and chewing gum may have negative impact on health

SYDNEY, Australia: Nanoparticles of the common food additive titanium dioxide (E171), which is found in more than 900 food products, including chewing gum, ...

A simple, esthetic & inexpensive technique for a custom implant abutment

In implant reconstruction, the dimension from the implant platform to the crest of tissue, especially in esthetically critical areas, is often more than 2 ...

Ancient chewing gum reveals new insight into Scandinavia

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Chewing gum has long been something that many people use. In a recent discovery in Scandinavia, researchers have found that the first ...

Study finds chewing gum could help fight dental caries

LONDON, UK: Though the relative benefits of chewing gum are often subject to debate, a number of studies have shown that the sugar-free varieties can ...

Chewing gum may be effective for delivering vitamins, study shows

PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.: It doesn’t take much searching on the Internet to find that chewing gum is a contentious subject. In a recent study that could help ...

Biting and chewing trigger tooth growth

SYDNEY, Australia: Research conducted by the University of Sydney has found chewing and biting to be the cause of adult teeth breaking through the gums ...